The Diversifieds A publication of the EDRC at Grays Harbor College
Volume 1, Issue 3
February 2009
Black History Month By Howard Tenke
February is...
Many often wonder why Black History Month is in February the shortest month of the year. In fact comedians often make light of that very fact. Black History Month does have its detractors not just in the white community but in the black commu‐ nity as well. In 2009 it takes on even more sig‐ nificance with the election and inauguration of our first African American President.
Lincoln and abolitionist Fredrick Douglas. Woodson also founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
was an early work in his‐ tory that pointed to black contributions.
Transfer Trips
Students of Color
EDRC Library
February 13 —The Ever‐ green State College and Saint Martin’s Univer‐ sity . Contact Cal Erwin‐ Svoboda at 538‐4078 for more information.
The 19th Annual Students of Color Conference is April 16‐18. Contact Brian Shook at 538‐4015 before February 5th for more information.
The EDRC’s library is now open! Stop by to see our selection of books & videos. Mostly topics on ethnicity & sexuality, both fiction & non ‐fiction. Ask the EDRC staff to show you the library and help you with the check‐out process. Donations to our library would also be greatly appreciated.
• African America History Month
Black History month does • Marfan Syndrome Awareness Month have its detractors; it Awareness Dates: sparks an annual debate about the continued use‐ National Freedom Day 1 fulness and fairness of a Imbolc (Pagan & Wiccan) 1-2 designated month dedi‐ When the tradition of Groundhog Day 2 cated to the history of one Black History Month was Candlemas (Christian) 2 started in the US, many in race. Critical op‐ed pieces Setsubun (Japan) 3 mainstream academia had have appeared in newspa‐ World Marriage Day 8 pers across the country barely begun to explore T’u B’Shvat (Jewish) 9 black history. At that Some African JESTINE point, most representation radical/nationalist groups, Lantern Festival (China) 9 of blacks in history books Taeborum (South Korea) 9 including the Nation of Black History Month be‐ was only in reference to Islam, have criticized Black Saint Maroon’s Day (Lebanon) 9 gan as Negro History the low social position Butter Sculpture Festival (Tibet) 10 History Month. Some crit‐ Week in 1926 and was they held as slaves and ics, including the actor Lincoln’s Birthday 12 started by historian Carter their descendants, with Morgan Freeman, contend Valentine’s Day 14 G. Woodson. Woodson infrequent exceptions that Black History Month is Nirvana (Buddhist) 15 chose the second week of such as that of George irrelevant because it has Arbaeen (Islamic) 16 February because it Washington Carter. Black degenerated into a shallow marked the birthdays of President’s Day History Month is also re‐ 16 ritual. Some, like Morgan two Americans who ferred to as African‐ World Day of Social Justice 20 Freeman, say that it serves greatly influenced the American History Month, Bun Day (Iceland) 23 to undermine the conten‐ lives and social condition or African Heritage Month. tion that black history is Maha Shivaratri (Hindu) 23 of African Americans: for‐ W.E.B. DuBois' 1935 work American history. Bursting Day (Iceland) 24 mer President Abraham "Black Reconstruction" Mardi Gras 24 Ash Wednesday (Christian) 25 Campus Happenings Intercalary Days (Baha’i) 26
February 27—Western Washington University. Contact Brian Shook at 538‐ 4015 for more information.
All College Day February 13 is All College Day at GHC—there will be no classes.
The Diversifieds are a publication of the EDRC of Grays Harbor College. The mission of the EDRC is to promote awareness, respect, and equitable treatment of the diverse individuals and groups that exist within our campus and surrounding communities. The EDRC is open to all! Please come visit us in the 200 building.
The Diversifieds
World Day of Social Justice by Howard Tenke
It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.
At its sixty-second session, in November 2007, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 20 February as World Day of Social Justice. The day was observed for the first time in 2009. In his Inauguaral Speech President Barrack Obama spoke of justice and equality stating , “To the people of poor nations, we pledge
to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and
we must change with it.” Poverty is the worst form of violence it is and it will remain as long as there are social injustices in the world. Let us mark February 20th this year as the year social equality and justice truly began by being of service to those who feel the sting of Social Injustices each and every day.
For more information on World Day of Social Justice visit http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/social/intldays/IntlJustice/ on the web.
Setsubun, the Bean-Scattering by Echo Hahn Festival Setsubun is a very popular Japanese tradition, and several of the larger shrines have yearly festivals which are televised nationally. Priests and invited guests throw soy beans, small candies, money, sweets and other small prizes, and the gatherings become wild events.
せつぶん (se - tsu - bu - n)
Until late in the 1800s Japan followed the lunar calendar, and the period around February 4 was the
beginning of the New Year, as well as the beginning of spring. Setsubun in Japanese means the turns of seasons.
(Japanese goblins) in order to drive away evil spirits and to pray for happiness and good health in the coming year. On this day Hundreds of years ago, beanpeople throw the beans in scattering ceremonies began their temples and homes to take place around Japan while enthusiastically annually on February 3, the shouting, “Fortune in, delast day of the year, to get rid mons out.” It is then the of evils and make the new custom to eat soy beans, year free of old sin. one for every year lived, Bean-scattering, or mameand, in some households, maki, is the practice of throw- one more to bring good ing roasted soy beans at oni luck in the new year.
I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes
Feb. 1st is Langston Hughes’ birthday. To read his biography and view other poems visit www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83
Page 2
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.
Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then.
Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed‐‐
I, too, am America.
Volume 1, Issue 3
Valentine’s Day by Kirsten Breitmeyer Well, that time of year is once again upon us. The day that young men seek to win the hearts of the girls they love; the day husbands hope to finally be let out of the dog house for forgetting to finish the “honey-do” list. You all know what day I’m talking about. Yep, it is once again, Valentine’s Day. The day that brings hearts and, cupids to mind, and cavities to our teeth. Aside from Easter, Valentine’s Day is the dentist’s second favorite holiday. A day when love is abundant in the hearts of those who can see past all the Hallmark commercialism.
Valentine’s Day has long been a tradition in our culture. It has been dated back to ancient Rome during the time of Emperor Claudius II. It is rumored that St. Valentine was a priest in that time who, after Claudius decreed that young men were no longer to be married in order to serve as soldiers, was rumored to still wed young couples in secret. His reward? Death, by what means is unknown. It is also said that while he was in prison, he fell in love with the jailor’s daughter. Romantic, huh? Before he was executed he wrote her a note and aptly signed it, “Love your Valentine.” (see, men can be
romantic when they feel like it.) So, for those of us that are slaving away in order to make our lives better, and further our education, here’s what I propose for this famous holiday. Finish your homework early, go home, and spend time with the family. Show the ones you love that you care. And you don’t have to buy a gift or send a card. Just letting them know that they mean something to you will make their day.
The Inauguration First-Hand
February
Awareness Trivia 1.
2.
3. 4.
5.
Which acclaimed black poet wrote: "But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams/ his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream/his wings are clipped and his feet are tied/so he opens his throat to sing."? Who invented three hundred uses for peanuts, and helped revitalized the economy of the South in the early twentieth century? February 1st is National Freedom Day. What particular kind of freedom does this day celebrate? Who said: “If you will protest courageously, and yet with dignity and Christian love, when the history books are written in future generations, the historians will have to pause and say, ‘There lived a great people - a black people - who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization.’ That is our challenge and our overwhelming responsibility.”? What language does the word February originally come from?
Stop by the EDRC to see if you have the correct answers to this month’s trivia and your name will be put in the EDRC’s monthly drawing.
by Jen Anderson I bumped into a friend I had not seen for a while, and he told me he was traveling to Washington DC the next week to see Barack Obama’s inauguration. I hugged him and was so excited for him. He then stated “if you can find a place to stay you can have the other ticket.” A very dear friend of mine called his uncle early the next day, which lives outside of DC, and I had a place to stay. I booked a flight after hours of searching for prices. My friend helped me find maps of bus routes and the Metro subway. I set out
This is a picture of the crowd in front of the capitol steps on the day of the inauguration.
to DC on Jan. 20th. I arrived in downtown DC around 5:00 pm. outside one of the buildings of the Smithsonian. I gazed upon the hundreds of people walking around and stared in awe at the Washington Monument. I watched crowds of people gather around news cameras and street vendors selling almost anything with Obama on it. I wandered through memorials and ended up on the steps where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous speech. I stood looking at Lincoln’s memorial and cried. King’s dream would come true tomorrow. I was in Washington DC on the eve to see the dawn of a new world. I felt so proud to be an American standing there, maybe even for the first time in my life. The next day I stood with thousands of others to watch the inauguration. I did not get in due to a mechanical difficulty. I spent my time four floors above the crowd though watching over in amazement at the event. I cried, sang, and prayed with complete strangers. All of us filled with hope and pride as Obama placed his hands on Lincoln’s bible and took oath. This is only a small part of my journey to read more go to www.jenanderson33.blogspot.com. It’s a work in progress and will take time to finish so be patient. Page 3
National Freedom Day A Local Legacy What holiday is celebrated on February 1? It's National Freedom Day. The purpose of this holiday is to pro‐ mote good feelings, harmony, and equal opportunity among all citizens and to remember that the United States is a nation dedi‐ cated to the ideal of freedom. Major Richard Robert Wright Sr., a former slave, fought to have a day when freedom for all Americans is celebrated. When Wright got his freedom, he went on to become a successful businessman and community leader in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Major Wright chose February 1 as National Freedom Day because it was the day in 1865 that President Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Do you know what the 13th Amendment did? This amendment, an important change to our written law, out‐ lawed slavery in the United States. Wright gathered national and local leaders together to write a bill declaring February 1 "National Freedom Day" and President Harry Truman signed the bill in 1948 making it official. Source: http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi‐bin/page.cgi/es/pa/free_1
Calling All Writers! The Diversifieds are an extension of the GHC campus and our surrounding community. We would like to welcome and encourage students and staff to submit articles for publication in The Diversifieds. This is a monthly publication. Please contact Erin Frasier at efrasier@ghc.edu for next month’s topics and to submit articles, poems or artwork.
Further Information: National Marfan Foundation: http://www.marfan.org/ Imbolc: www.circlesanctuary.org/pholidays/imbolc.htm T’u B’Shvat : http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday8.htm
Other Awareness Dates: 5 - Constitution Day (Mexico) 6 - Waitangi Day (New Zealand) 8 - Constitution Day (Philippines) 11 - National Foundation Day (Japan) 15 - Liberation Day (Afghanistan) 16 - Independence Day (Lithuania) 16 - Washington’s Birthday (US) 17 - Declaration of Independence (Republic of Kosovo) 21 - Int’l Mother Language Day (U.N.) 21 - Martyrs’ Day (Bangladesh) 22 - People’s Power Day (Philippines) 23 - Defenders of the Motherland Day (Russia) 24 - Flag Day (Mexico) 24 - Independence Day (Estonia) 25 - National Day (Kuwait) 27 - Independence Day (Dominican Republic)
Deadline for submission in next month’s newsletter is Feb. 20
Equity & Diversity Resource Center DIVERSITY COMMITTEE
360-538-4247 Room 219
Committee Chair: Brian Shook The Diversifieds Staff: Erin Frasier Echo Hahn Howard Tenke
1620 Edward P. Smith Drive Aberdeen, WA 98520 edrc@ghc.edu http://www.ghc.edu/edrc/brochure.pdf